Across Europe, grid operators face the same problem: connection queues filled with data center projects, many of which will never be built. Every major market has rewritten its rules in the last year or so, and each has chosen a different filter. The debate usually covers the UK, Germany and Ireland. France is often left out, although it has taken its own route.
FOUR MARKETS, FOUR FILTERS
| Market | Mechanism | Key terms | What it selects for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Britain | Data centre commitment fee (proposal) | £237,500 to £712,500 per MW for projects of 40 MW and above, returned at energisation, forfeited on withdrawal or missed milestones | Financial capacity |
| Germany | Maturity-based allocation (Reifegradverfahren), since 1 April 2026 | For connections of 100 MW and above: €50,000 application fee, €1,500 per MW security on accepting an offer | Project maturity |
| Ireland | Large Energy Users connection policy, December 2025 | Dispatchable onsite or nearby generation or storage matching import capacity; at least 80% of annual demand from additional Irish renewables | Self-sufficiency |
| France | Regulator-approved fast-track procedure and pre-identified sites | Five connection-ready sites totalling 4.8 GW published in June 2026, financial commitment at reservation | Location and commitment |
Sources: Ofgem consultation of 29 July 2026; German TSOs (50Hertz, Amprion, TenneT, TransnetBW); CRU decision of 12 December 2025; RTE and CRE. GridReadiness analysis, September 2026.
GREAT BRITAIN: PUTTING A PRICE ON THE QUEUE
According to Ofgem, contracted demand in the connection queue rose from 41 GW to 125 GW between November 2024 and June 2025, with around 73 GW from some 315 data centre projects, against a national peak demand of about 45 GW. Its answer is a commitment fee set at 2.5% to 7.5% of average project capex, held from acceptance of the connection offer until energisation. For a 100 MW project at the top of the range, that means around £71 million at risk. The consultation closed on 16 September 2026, with a decision expected by the end of the year.
GERMANY: FIRST READY, FIRST SERVED
The four German transmission operators replaced first-come, first-served with a scoring of project maturity for large consumers and storage from 1 April 2026. The fees are modest; what counts is how advanced the land, permits and technical concept are. The filter is effective against paper projects, but it pushes developers to front-load permitting work before they know whether they will get capacity.
IRELAND: BRING YOUR OWN POWER
After years of de facto restrictions around Dublin, the Irish regulator now requires new data centres to provide dispatchable generation or storage matching their import capacity, participating in the wholesale market, and to source at least 80% of annual demand from additional Irish renewables. The filter is the heaviest in capex terms, but it turns a data center into a partial energy project.
FRANCE: CHOOSE THE SITE, THEN COMMIT
France has one national transmission operator, RTE, and a fast-track procedure approved by the regulator in May 2025. Rather than only pricing or scoring the queue, the State and RTE have pre-identified sites where connection can be delivered faster: five were published in June 2026, for 4.8 GW in total, with a financial commitment required at reservation. France is not immune to speculation: RTE had reserved close to 18 GW for around 80 data center projects by May 2026, and has signalled a move away from pure first-come, first-served. See RTE's five fast-track sites and the RTE connection timeline.
THE QUESTION LENDERS SHOULD ADD: SEQUENCING
Every model moves money or effort earlier in the project. In Britain, a large security is posted at offer acceptance. In France, a commitment is made at site reservation. In Germany, permitting has to be advanced before capacity is allocated. In Ireland, generation capex comes with the connection.
In most cases, that capital is committed before permits are final and before local acceptance is secured. A project can lose its grid position because of a permit challenge, or lose its permit while its grid security is already posted. For lenders and funds, the key question is no longer only "is the connection secured?" but "what is at risk if the permit or the community fails?". That is the gap between compute ordered and compute installed.
Is that money refundable, and under which conditions?
Are permits final before the commitment falls due, or after?
What happens to the grid position if a permit is challenged?
Is there a fallback site or a flexible connection option?
These questions are part of our due diligence for lenders and funds.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How are European countries reforming data center grid connection queues?
Great Britain proposes a commitment fee per MW, Germany allocates capacity by project maturity, Ireland requires data centres to bring dispatchable generation and additional renewables, and France relies on a fast-track procedure with pre-identified sites and a commitment at reservation.
What is Ofgem's proposed data centre commitment fee?
A returnable security of £237,500 to £712,500 per MW for data centre projects of 40 MW and above, held from acceptance of the connection offer until energisation and forfeited if the project withdraws or misses milestones.
What is Germany's Reifegradverfahren?
A maturity-based procedure introduced by the four German transmission operators on 1 April 2026 for large consumers and storage, replacing first-come, first-served with scoring of project maturity.
How does France handle data center connection queues?
Through RTE's regulator-approved fast-track procedure, pre-identified connection-ready sites and a financial commitment at reservation, while moving away from pure first-come, first-served.